Corrections & Clarifications: Amazon's smart speakers with displays are the Show and Spot.

Politeness counts, at least when your child asks Alexa a question on an Amazon Echo speaker.

Soon, when your youngster asks Alexa to solve a math problem by exhibiting good manners—“Alexa, please tell me what 5 plus 7 is”—the voice inside the Echo will not only supply the right answer but will then add positive reinforcement: “By the way, thanks for asking so nicely.”

This new “magic word” feature, as Amazon calls it, starts to roll out in a software upgrade for the Echo, Echo Plus and Echo Dot smart speakers May 9, as part of a set of free parental controls called FreeTime for Alexa.

The feature reveals that Amazon is paying attention to a loud chorus of customers who were concerned that the act of rudely commanding Alexa to do something sends out the wrong kind of message, especially to the youngest members of your household.

First, set up FreeTime parental controls

The new parental controls for Echo are a version of the FreeTime parental controls that debuted five years ago on Amazon’s kid-friendly Fire tablets.

Such controls on Echo speakers will let parents block voice purchases by the kids, filter explicit song lyrics, choose the content the kids can listen to or the Alexa “skills” they can take advantage of and also set bedtime limits that temporarily pause or suspend the use of an Echo. Through a software dashboard, parents can see their kids’ Alexa activity, and review the youngster’s voice recordings in the app.

What’s more, when the controls are enabled, Alexa will change the manner in which it responds to kid queries to make the answers more approachable or informative.

For example, if an adult today asks Alexa how many planets there are, the adult gets a straightforward response: “There are eight planets.”

If a kid asks the same question when FreeTime is enabled, Alexa will list each of the planets, and go on to explain that “Pluto is considered a dwarf planet, although it is still awesome.”

If the kid wonders why Pluto is awesome, Alexa responds this way: “Pluto is awesome because it wasn’t a planet, then it was, now it’s not. It’s considered a dwarf planet by scientists. Just because you’re small though, doesn’t mean you’re not important.”

Amazon has also given some thought to how Alexa will answer more delicate questions, giving age-appropriate but factual responses. Should the child wonder how babies are made, Alexa answers, “People make people, but how they’re made would be a better question for a grown-up.”

And if the kid tells Alexa that “I’m being bullied,” the response is, “I’m so sorry to hear that. You should talk to your parents, a teacher or another trusted grown-up. Bullying is never OK.”

The new features arrive with some limitations. Because Echo speakers lack voice recognition, it cannot determine whether an adult is asking a question or if it is the youngster asking. That means a parent would have to manually turn FreeTime on or off each time an older or younger family member wanted to quiz an Echo placed in a common area of the home like the kitchen, not exactly practical. In that sense, FreeTime for Alexa is probably best turned on for an Echo situated in a kids’ bedroom or playroom.

Another drawback: Out of the gate, FreeTime on Alexa does not work with the Echo Show or the Echo Spot, Amazon’s smart speakers with displays.

Amazon also announced a version of FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa, a premium version of FreeTime that protects kids behind a walled garden. It includes age-appropriate books, Audible audiobooks, videos, apps, games, ad-free radio stations and playlists from iHeartRadio Family and Alexa skills from the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon and National Geographic, including characters the kids can wake up to.

There’s no additional cost if you already subscribe to FreeTime Unlimited on a Fire tablet. Otherwise, Prime members can get FreeTime Unlimited for $2.99 per month.

Also new: Echo Dot Kids

Echo Dot Kids Edition in green.(Photo: Amazon)

Amazon launched the $79.99 Echo Dot Kids Edition, a version of the Echo Dot that comes with a free one-year subscription of FreeTime Unlimited, a red, green or blue protective case, and a two-year, Amazon-will-take-it-back guarantee. Amazon starts taking pre-orders on Wednesday.

“Amazon is doing something that’s been widely asked, which is rewarding kids for saying 'please,’" says Avi Greengart, a tech analyst at GlobalData. “Perhaps that will lessen the fear that some parents have that adding an AI (artificial intelligent assistant) is ruining kids’ etiquette.”

Not everyone is happy with what Amazon is doing with kids.

"Amazon is luring kids with bright colored packaging and caretakers with parental controls, but this is a commercial intrusion into family life to which we should all say “no!,” says Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "AI devices not only raise a host of privacy concerns but also interfere with the face-to-face interactions and kid-driven play that children need to grow and thrive."

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David Limp, senior vice president of Devices and Services at Amazon, smiles as he displays a new Amazon Echo during an event announcing several new Amazon products by the company on Sept. 27, 2017, in Seattle. Amazon says it is cutting the price of its Echo smart speaker, improving the sound quality and upgrading its appearance with six new "shells." The next generation speaker, which is powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, will have a dedicated woofer and a tweeter for the first time, as well as Dolby sound. Elaine Thompson, AP

An Amazon Echo Spot is displayed on Sept. 27, 2017, in Seattle. The round version of the Echo Show has its own 2.5-inch display that can provide visual information, such as the weather or a clock face. It also provides access to Alexa and supports optional video-calling support. Elaine Thompson, AP

A new Amazon Echo is displayed during a program announcing several new Amazon products on Sept. 27, 2017, in Seattle. Amazon says it is cutting the price of its Echo smart speaker, improving the sound quality and upgrading its appearance with six new "shells." The next generation speaker, which is powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, will have a dedicated woofer and a tweeter for the first time, as well as Dolby sound. Elaine Thompson, AP